Power operated typewriting and like machines



Dec. 31, 1957 H. c. YAEGER POWER OPERATED TYPEWRITING AND LIKE MACHINES Filed Nov. 17, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR- HARRY c. MEGER ATTORNEY Dec. 31, 1957 H. c. YAEGER 2,813,151

POWER OPERATED TYPEWRITING AND LIKE MACHINES Filed Nov. 17, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNl ENTOR HARRY C. VAE'GE R I MW ATTORNEY United States Patentf) POWER -OPERA='PED TYPEWRITING AND LIK E MACHINES Harry C. Yaeger,West Hartford, Conn., assignor 'to Underwood' Corporation,v New York,N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application Nvembert17,.1954, Serial No.'469,413

The present inventionrelates to power driven business machines, especially-typewriting machines and in its more means for" disconnecting" an actuator from a I rotating "power shaft; whereby" the disconnection 'may be accurately 'timed, -willbe quiet "and 'will be brought "about wiih'out 'thenisual"forcing='apart ofthe members and the consequent shock 'andstra'in imposed thereby.

Other objects; "fature'sandadvantages of the invention willl be'c'ome more' readily apparent as the "description of a preferred embodiment thereof'proceeds.

Referring-now to the'd'rawings: Figure 1 is awiewpar-tly iiiside elevation and partly 1 in cross-section= of a type-action= of a power driven typewriterand showing the*improveddisconnectmeans of'the 1 present invention,

Figurekz is a: plan =view of' an 1 improved kick-mt -bar showing the means-for individually timing the ki'eking otf at the individualitypei'bar actuators;

:Ei gurez *3 iss asview-tpantlyiin'residefi'elevation and r partly in :cross? section 1ofra portion of: theitypet'b'arr'actuator and associated\mechanism; showing theipartscat the'imoment whena the: actuator hassbeen moved .intosengagement with the rotating rpowen'shaft,

Figure 4= is 'az-viewisimilanttor-Figure :3, showin'g ithe position of the 3 parts: after-.thetaotuator (has; been driven a nearly to :its? full extent;

Figure :Sris-Ja View similar to :Figures'; -3::and 4 and. showing the position .of utheipartsvat the :momenta of v disengage- -ment. of the :actuator. from the po'wenshaft,

Figuret6sisr-aw-viewssimilar-ate FigUresvB, 4-;and Sand showing thepartsimmediatelyafter the actuator has become. fully disengaged from the; power- ;sha-fttand a before thet actuatori hasbeen restored to itsanormal; position; and

Figure 7T.is:.a .partial1- side elevati'onal. view ofthe mechanism showing, an :adjustment for. obtaining. light typing impressions and showing;the .actuatouinengagement with the rotating power shaft. I 1

The power actuated typ eractionrsystem shown in the drawing is more fully, 'shown andrdescribed in itheYaeg'er Patent? No. 212541764 andlcomprises .a. type bar .1 0 pivotany, mounted uponia segmentalshaft'l'l' an'dadapted to be swung from the fullline position shown in i ure 1 into' engagementiwith' the usual roller"pla'ten12; The type bar is connectedby a link 1'3 to one-end of-a sub-lever and ur'ged to-its=normal position shown inifFi' 'gure l by a spring 16; t where it is 'arrested by a 'suitahle stofi not 2,818,151 Patented Dec. 731, 1957 .shown. A lever 17 is pivotally mounted upon a cross shaft .18 andhas vpivotally connected thereto one end'of an actuator '19 the opposite end of which ,is slidably giiidedin .a comb guide v20. Thelever17 isvin abutment fwith jan'edgeo'f ,thesub-lever 714 so that when theactuator 19 is .moved to the leftas viewed in Figure 1, the lever 17 will rock [the sub-lever .14 and swing the typetbaizinto engagement with the platen. A clutching element; which may belin the form of a toothed vpawl 21'is mountedupon the actuator 19 for limited pivotal movement, 'as will presehtly be more fully explained. V

.A type key 22 is carried by a key lever- .23, therear end of which is pivotally mounted upon a-cross shaft24-and "the'front end of which is guided in atsuitable .comb;gui de 25. The key lever isnormally .held in the position shown "in Figure l by means of a spring26. Amemberj' l .is pivotally mounted upon the key lever 2-3 and is 'provided with atab 28 which engagesastop 2 9 PI0Vid6d10l1 fl:l -3 key lever; said member being normally maintained inithe position shown in the drawi'ngby means of a tspring 3 0. The upper end ofthemember .27 isprovidedwitha hook portio'n'3 1 normally overlying a lug 32 provided upon the actuator "19. Depression of the key 22icausesithe1mem- "ber 27 ,to rock thezactuator 19,.downward1yabout; its pivo tal connection with thevle'ver 17 ,to bringthe-w-clu'tching element or toothed pawl21'into engagementwith-a rotat- "ing powe 'r shaft or toothed roller,l'ainlas.iswelltkiiown one of thenovel features of this;inventionis=the.constr'uction and mounting of the pawl 21 upontheactuator (19, The clutching .elernen'tror pawlc is provided .witha pair of teeth 34 and 35 and that .pOr'tionrof vsaidpawl wherein the teeth are cut, is considerably thicker theinthe "rest of "the-pawl. The thickened, port-ion erases- 91 is cut to provide a pair of shou'ldersr36 and 37 which lie within a cutaway portion of thenactuatoii andili'ifiittthe pivotal movement of said pawl by engagement with stop surfaces'38 and39 respectively of said actuator.

'Tofurther' limit the pivotalmovement of the pajwl2l "at'certain'times, said pawl is provided witli a tail,.por-

*tion' 4010i engagement Witha nose '41of a latch member 42'pivotally mounted upon the actuator. l ivotal ,movemerit of'the latch member 42 is limited in ans-pfla 'pin 43' secured to the actuator and extending 'th "enlarged opening 44 provided'in s'aid latchme I I spring extends 'betweenthe latch=meinber comb "member-20 and normally holds the actuator in the *t'ioii-Shbivh-inFigure l Withthe' top surface dfth resting against-a stop bar 46 an'd'the teeth thereof out of pawl engagement with the teeth of the shaftfi33. I

T Referringnow particularly to Figuresj3 and 4,1it 'beobs'e'rved that when the key is depressed to the actuator down about its pivotal connection the lever 1-7,the tooth 34 of the pawl F21- co,me s1 l i'rs't into engagement with the teeth of the shifty; whereupon continued rotation of said shaft 'rot'atessaid pawl ihfa clockwise direction to bring the;tooth-'35 thereof into engagement with the teeth of said shaft. Afterthe-pawl has'ro'fated sufficiently to engageit stooth 35 with" the shaft 33, the tail portion 40 thereof engagesfb'eneath the nose 41 of the latch member 42,-as:shown in Figure *4; to limit the-rotary movement-ofsaidpawl-and thereby 1 cause the rotating shaft to drive the-pawl a'n'd the actuator as" a unit toward the left" to operate t he*type bar-as aforesaid. InFigure 4, itwillb'e-observe'd that'zat this time rotation of the pawl 21 in a" clockwise direction' is'limited'entirely by theengagement of the tail-p'or- *tion 40 thereof beneath the nose 41' of the latch'member; the pawl: not having rotated suflici'entIy to'-b1 i'ng "the shoulder '36 'intoengagement with the-stop surface' 38,

The pawlf2l and latch 'member 42 could of course"be so controlled.

pawl would be permitted but the construction illustrated provides a more positive engagement of the pawl with the power shaft and permits the actuator to be started on its power stroke more gently and without shock.

Extending crosswise of the machine beneath the actuators is a kick-off bar generally designated 47, the particular construction and arrangement of which will presently be more particularly described. The latch member 42 is provided with a downwardly extending tail portion 48 and as the actuator moves toward the left far enough to drive the type bar part way to the platen the tail portion 48 contacts the kick-01f bar to thereby rock the latch member in a counter-clockwise direction and remove the nose 41 thereof from latching engagement with the pawl 21. Removal of the nose 41 from the tail portion 40 of the pawl 21 permits said pawl to rotate sufliciently further in a clockwise direction to disengage the tooth 35 thereof from the teeth of the rotating power shaft 33, said disengagement being accomplished smoothly and without shock or noise.

In Figure 4, it may be seen that before the tail portion 48 of the latch member engages the kick-off bar 47, the lower edge of the actuator 19 has come into ctntact with an edge of said kick-off bar, so that at the time the tail portion 48 strikes said kick-off bar the actuator is travelling horizontally. Under these circumstances, the clutching element or pawl 21 would eventually disengage itself from the toothed roller 33 but by varying the position of the kick-off bar, in a manner presently to be explained, the length of time that said clutching element stays in engagement with the roller may be accurately As will readily be appreciated, the length of time that the clutching element is in engagement with the roller determines the distance that the actuator will be driven and consequently determines the force with which the type will strike the platen; it being understood that the speed of rotation of the roller is constant.

Figure shows the position of the parts just as the tooth 35 is becoming freed from the latch member 42 and Figure 6 shows the pawl rotated to its fullest clockw se extent with the shoulder 36 thereof in engagement with the stop portion 38 of the actuator and the teeth I thereof completely disengaged from the teeth of the shaft 33. It will be observed that with the parts in Figure 6 position the end of the nose 41 rests upon a flattened end 49 of the tail portion 40. After disengagement of the pawl from the shaft 33, the spring 45 moves the parts back to the position shown in Figure 1 and during this movement the upper edge of the pawl 21 strikes the stop bar 46 to rotate said pawl in a counterclockwise direction and free the latch member for restoration to its normal position.

The kick-off bar 47 comprises an elongated rectangular member 50 secured to which as by means of screws 51 is a thin metal plate 52 preferably of bronze or a similar wear-resistent material. As best seen in Figure 2, the plate 52 is slotted to provide a plurality of resilient fingers 53, there being a separate finger for each actuator 19. An adjustment screw 54 is provided for each of the fingers 53 and by turning said screws the individual fingers may be moved slightly toward or away from the rectangular member 50 to thereby vary the point at which the tails 48 of the various individual latch members 42 will come in contact with the kickoff bar. By thus varying the points at which the different latch members contact the kick-off bar, the force of the impressions of the individual types may be regulated so that an M, for example, will print with the same degree of typing impression as. for example, a period. During typing operations the lower edges of the actuators slide on a smoothly curved portion of the plate 52, as may be observed in the drawings.

Secured to the opposite ends of the members 50 are arms 55, only one of which is shown. Each arm 55 is pivotally mounted on a side frame plate of the machine as at 56 and is provided with a generally horizontally extending portion 57 carrying a pin 58, which pin rests against the periphery of a spiral cam 59 secured to a rotatably mounted cross shaft 60. The pins 58 are held in engagement with the cams 59 by means of springs 61 extending between the arms 55 and the side plates of the machine. Any suitable means may be provided for manually adjusting the rotative position of the cross shaft 60; for example, one end of said shaft may be extended through the side plate of the machine and be provided with a knob located outside of the machine casing. While a particular means for adjusting the position of the kick-off bar has been shown, such means is not of the essence of the present invention. Any suitable arrangement for permitting adjustment of the kick-off bar toward and away from the toothed roller 33 may be employed without departing from the present invention.

Figure 1 shows the position of the earns 59 and kickoff bar 47 which permits of the greatest travel of the actuators 19 and consequently of the heaviest type impressions. Figure 7 shows the adjustment for obtaining the lightest typing impressions.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the class described, an instrumentality to be power operated, an actuator for said instrumentality, a power shaft, 21 clutching element pivoted on said actuator, means for moving said actuator to engage said clutching element with said shaft, a latch member mounted on said actuator for cooperation with said clutching element, said latch member normally preventing full pivotal movement of said clutching element and consequently causing said clutching element and said actuator to be moved as a unit by said power shaft, and means operable upon said latch member for causing said latch member to release said clutching element and permit pivotal movement thereof to disengage said clutching element from said power shaft.

2. In a machine of the class described, an instrumentality to be power operated, an actuator for said instrumentality, a toothed power shaft, a toothed pawl pivoted on said actuator, means for moving said actuator to engage said toothed pawl with said power shaft, a latch member mounted on said actuator, said latch member normally preventing full pivotal movement of said pawl and consequently causing said pawl and said actuator to be moved as a unit by said shaft, and means'operable upon said latch member to cause said latch member to release said pawl and permit rotation of said pawl to disengage the teeth thereof from the teeth of said power shaft.

3. In a machine of the class described, an instrumentality to be power operated, an actuator for said instrumentality, a toothed power shaft, a toothed pawl pivoted on said actuator, means for moving said actuator to engage said toothed pawl with said power shaft, a latch member pivotally mounted on said actuator, said latch member permitting a limited rotation of said pawl when the teeth thereof first engage said shaft, said latch member subsequently preventing further rotation of said pawl and consequently causing said pawl and said actuator to be moved as a unit by said shaft, and means for rotating said latch member to a position to release said pawl and permit further rotation of said pawl to disengage the teeth thereof from the teeth of said shaft.

4. In a machine of the class described, an instrumentality to be power operated, an actuator for said instrumentality, a power shaft, a clutching element pivoted on said actuator, means for moving said actuator to engage said clutching element with saidpower shaft, a latch member mounted on said actuator, said latch member permitting a limited rotation of said clutching element when said clutching element first engages said power shaft, said latch member subsequently preventing further rotation of said clutching element and consequently causing said clutching element and said actuator to be driven as a unit by said power shaft, kick-01f means, and means on said latch member engageable with said kick-off means during the driven movement of said actuator to release said latch member from latching engagement with said clutching element and thereby permit further rotation of said clutching element to disengage said clutching element from said power shaft.

5. In a machine of the class described, an instrumentality to be power operated, an actuator for said instrumentality, a power shaft, a clutching element pivoted on said actuator, means for moving said actuator to engage said clutching element with said power shaft, a latch member pivoted on said actuator, said latch member normally preventing full pivotal movement of said clutching element and consequently causing said clutching element and said actuator to be power operated as a unit by said power shaft, kick-off means, means on said latch member engageable with said kick-off means during the power operation of said actuator to release said latch member from latching engagement with said clutching element and permit rotation of said clutching element to disengage said clutching element from said power shaft, and means for relatively adjusting said kick-off means and said latch member to change the point of engagement of said latch member and said kick-off means.

6. In a machine of the class described, an instrumentality to be power operated, an actuator for said instrumentality, a power shaft, a clutching element pivoted on said actuator, means for moving said actuator to engage said clutching element with said power shaft, a latch member pivoted on said actuator, said latch member permitting a limited rotation of said clutching element when said clutching element first engages said power shaft, said latch member subsequently preventing further rotation of said clutching element and consequently causing said clutching element and said actuator to be moved as a unit by said power shaft, kick-off means, means on said latch member engageable with said kick-off means during movement of said actuator to release said latch member from latching engagement with said clutching element and permit further rotation of said clutching element to disengage said clutching element from said power shaft, and

means for relatively adjusting said kick-01f means and said latch member to change the point of engagement of said latch member and said kick-off means.

7. In a machine of the class described, an instrumentality to be power operated, an actuator for said instrumentality, a power shaft, a clutching element pivoted on said actuator, means for moving said actuator to engage said clutching element with said power shaft, a latch member pivoted on said actuator, said latch member normally preventing full pivotal movement of said clutching element and consequently causing said clutching element and said actuator to be moved as a unit by said power shaft, kick-off means, means on said latch member engageable with said kick-off means during movement of said actuator to release said latch member from latching engagement with said clutching element and permit rotation of said clutching element to disengage said clutching element from said power shaft, and means for adjusting said kick-01f means toward and away from said power shaft to vary the point of engagement of said latch member with said kick-0E means.

8. In a machine of the class described, an instrumentality to be power operated, an actuator for said instrumentality, a power shaft, a clutching element pivoted on said actuator, means for moving said actuator to engage said clutching element with said power shaft, a latch member pivoted on said actuator, said latch member permitting a limited rotation of said clutching element when said clutching element first engages said power shaft, said latch member subsequently preventing further rotation of said clutching element and consequently causing said clutching element and said actuator to be moved as a unit by said power shaft, kick-off means, means on said latch member engageable with said kick-01f means during movement of said actuator to release said latch member from latching engagement with said clutching element and permit further rotation of said clutching element to disengage said clutching element from said power shaft, and means for adjusting said kick-off means toward and away from said power shaft to vary the point of engagement of said latch member with said kick-0E means.

Pasinski June 7, 1936 Kupper "a Sept. 18, 1951 

